A Trip to Shanghai

My first professional development opportunity came quickly at my new school. I was invited to attend the Learning 2.011 conference in Shanghai Sept. 8-10. I traveled with two colleagues for this adventure, and was almost immediately glad I was not alone! We had to obtain a taxi mid-day (difficult), tell them where to drop us at the airport, and know where to check in.

At the airport, upon getting to the counter to check in, I retrieved my passport from my purse. Looking more closely at it, I was horrified to discover that I did not have my passport—I had Daniel’s. My colleague was quick on the draw, and calmly called the school and asked them to go to Dan, get his passport and send the Head of School’s driver to the airport to exchange passports. Within a few text/voice exchanges, the plan was set and we went for lunch while the driver was making the 30 minute trip to complete the exchange. This is just one of the many reasons that it can pay to be at the airport early.

We stayed at a new Holiday Inn in a suburb area of Shanghai. Wow. It was like no Holiday Inn I had ever seen! There was an awesome fitness center that included a glass bottom pool on the 24th floor. Amazing! This conference was also my first experience at seeing another international school in China. The campus was very large and brand new! I shared an evening dinner with an eclectic group of educators from all over Asia at a Thai restaurant in The Bund area of Shanghai.

A week later, Daniel made his first Professional Development trip to Shanghai. His training was for the International Baccalaureate MYP programme. He stayed at an equally nice hotel, and enjoyed a bit of exploration in the city. 

The fun thing about any conference is making connections. I met many people who knew people I knew at other international schools; Daniel’s experience was the same. It humbles you how small the world is. I continue to be amazed at the number of Minnesotans in the international school setting.